Conventional seal assembly designs, or simply called seals, may experience thermal contraction or expansion under extreme temperatures, such as shrinkage or contraction towards the inside diameter (ID) in a cryogenic temperature application or expansion towards the outside diameter (OD) in an elevated heat temperature application. Such thermal contraction or expansion experienced by these prior art seal designs can result in the loss of sealing contact at the OD or the ID and, thus, the sealing ability on the outer seal lip or the inner seal lip of the sealing element, respectively.
In cryogenic sealing applications, plastic materials can shrink about ten (10) times more than metallic materials. These differences in shrink rates could pose a dilemma in common sealing cases where conventional seals are typically made of plastic in the sealing contact area and the shaft and bore are generally made out of metal.